I visited 沙流川歴史館 to look around. I wandered around because I couldn't tell where the building was from the parking lot, then found out it was at the very back of 二風谷コタン. Along the way, I was also able to see the reconstructed dwellings in 二風谷コタン. 沙流川歴史館 is free to enter and has extensive exhibits, so I definitely recommend visiting if you come here.

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2026.5 Speaking of 沙流川, my dad often came here for mountain-stream fishing in the 1950s, but by the 1970s, when I started coming along, it had become a “river where you couldn't catch fish.” Even so, it was a memorable river because of the remains of an altar for welcoming UFOs based on Ainu oral traditions (now completely closed. I remember hearing that, rather than a cult, it was built by someone who made money selling river stones or something). If you go around behind the history museum, you can see the 二風谷 reservoir, but although it was the season when snowmelt from 日高 was flowing in, I was disappointed that the water wasn't a very nice color. Inside the history museum are displays of pottery, iron objects, weapons excavated from nearby sites, and items reconstructed using current technological knowledge. With today's technology, pottery and iron objects could probably reveal not only where they were excavated but also where they were made (where they came from, their place of manufacture), so I hope such research continues. Admission here was free.

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It is farther back beyond アイヌ文化資料館, and the signs aren't very noticeable, so it's easy to walk right past. But besides objects excavated from sites in 平取 and dioramas, there were also a model of the UFO base ハヨピラ, which became famous worldwide long ago, and newspaper and magazine clippings.

2025·R7.9.6 My first visit. 「沙流川歴史館」 opened in 1998·H10 and stands at the very back of "二風谷アイヌコタン", along にぶたに湖, the reservoir of 二風谷 Dam. Opening hours are 9~16:30, closed on Mondays (the following day if it is a public holiday) and 12/30~1/5, and admission is free. You can learn the stories of 沙流川 and the people of this area through accounts of investigations of chashi sites in 平取町, artifacts excavated at archaeological sites, and dioramas of those places then and now. Looking at the building entrance, the ground on either side is buried in earth, and the design leads you into a semi-basement like a tomb, reminding me of "亀甲墓(かめこうばか)", the tombs of Ryukyu·Okinawa. To borrow someone's words, “In the past, the Ainu made grave markers in different shapes for men and women from freshly cut green wood. Apparently each area carved them into its own prescribed shape, but no personal names were engraved, and grave markers were considered ‘things that should weather over the years, and that can return to nature once their purpose is fulfilled.’” So the image of a tomb is simply my own assumption. What personally fascinated and absorbed me was the diorama of "ハヨピラ(旧ハヨピラ自然公園跡)" displayed on the counter in front of reception, recreating the former appearance of "太陽のピラミッド", "太陽円盤マーク大花壇", "オキクルミカムイ記念塔", "モザイク大壁画", "航空記念塔", and so on. Alongside the diorama are several dozen A4 pages of materials in clear folders. It may be difficult to elevate the ハヨピラ-related display to a "permanent exhibition", but this much material probably no longer exists anywhere else, so I really hope it is never discarded and continues to be displayed.

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There is a model and information about ハヨピラ自然公園. Inside, there is also a hands-on area that children can enjoy, and the exhibits were well worth seeing.

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